Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) Hits New 12-Month High - What's Next?

Key Points

• Stock hit a 52-week high: Southwest Gas shares traded as high as $93.52 (last at about $93.03) on Thursday, rising roughly 2.4% with volume around 76,891 shares.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive: Citigroup upgraded SWX to a "buy" with a $99 target, and overall analysts rate the stock a "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $88.40 (individual targets as high as $96–$99).
• Mixed fundamentals — earnings miss but stronger shareholder returns: The company missed quarterly EPS ($1.36 vs. $1.40) and saw revenues down 13.1% year-over-year, yet set FY2026 guidance of $4.17–$4.32 EPS and raised the quarterly dividend to $0.645 (annualized $2.58, ~2.7% yield).

Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $93.52 and last traded at $93.0250, with a volume of 76891 shares. The stock had previously closed at $91.90.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup upgraded Southwest Gas from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $82.00 to $99.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Southwest Gas from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, April 18th. Finally, Mizuho set a $96.00 price target on shares of Southwest Gas in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $88.40.

Southwest Gas Trading Up 2.4%

The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The firm has a market cap of $6.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.60. The business has a 50 day moving average of $88.58 and a 200 day moving average of $84.01.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.40 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $480.74 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $587.01 million. Southwest Gas had a net margin of 14.77% and a return on equity of 6.62%. The firm's revenue was down 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.39 EPS. Southwest Gas has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.170-4.320 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Southwest Gas Corporation will post 4.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Gas Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.645 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. This is a positive change from Southwest Gas's previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Southwest Gas's payout ratio is currently 39.27%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southwest Gas

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 10,837 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $867,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its position in Southwest Gas by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 10,431 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $835,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the period. Massachusetts Wealth Management lifted its position in Southwest Gas by 1.9% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management now owns 8,080 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $633,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC lifted its position in Southwest Gas by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 14,500 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,160,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the period. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in Southwest Gas by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 17,184 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,375,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.77% of the company's stock.

About Southwest Gas

Southwest Gas Corporation NYSE: SWX is a publicly traded natural gas utility that provides regulated gas distribution services to residential, commercial, industrial and electric generation customers. The company's core activities include the transportation, distribution and sale of natural gas through an extensive network of pipelines, service lines and metering facilities. Southwest Gas also offers related services such as system maintenance, pipeline safety inspections, emergency response and line extensions to support customer growth and ensure reliable gas delivery.

Founded in 1931 in southern Nevada, Southwest Gas has grown through strategic acquisitions and organic expansion to become one of the nation's larger natural gas utilities by customer count.

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